Free Web NovelChapter 61: Chapter 61: Something to Become Stronger
"What?"
Shi Lan asked in confusion, but the next moment, she saw Xiao Du jump off her head. It wiggled its body and hopped away.
[Master, hurry! If the good stuff runs away, it’ll be hard to find.]
Xiao Du urged from inside her mind. Shi Lan quickly chased after it. "Wait for me, Xiao Du." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
She quickened her pace and finally managed to stop it at the main gate.
It was the first time she had ever seen Xiao Du so desperate to leave her side. She scooped it into her arms and saw how it fidgeted, as if wishing it could sprout a few more legs. She quickly opened the door and headed out, asking as she walked, "Xiao Du, what is it?"
Xiao Du’s tone was excited. [Master, I don’t know what it is exactly, but I can feel a very powerful ball of energy. I’m sure that if we eat it, we’ll become stronger.]
[This power is rather erratic. I’m worried it’ll be gone if we’re too late.]
"Okay."
Hearing that she could become stronger, Shi Lan needed no more convincing from Xiao Du and automatically picked up her pace.
Xiao Du was in charge of giving directions.
Night fell late on Black Star. It was a clear day, and around seven in the evening, the sky was cloudless. A pink sunset stained half the sky, the magnificent and vast expanse a gorgeous blend of blue and red.
The prison’s streetlights were automated, turning on based on visibility. Since it was still light out, Shi Lan walked past rows of quiet, unlit lamps, cradling Xiao Du.
She walked for over ten minutes, leaving the street-lit area behind. She arrived in a place even more unfamiliar than when she had first come to Black Star. The prison was completely out of sight.
Shi Lan paused. "Xiao Du, are we there yet?"
Xiao Du shook its head. [Master, it’s still far.]
Hearing this, Shi Lan hesitated. She looked back at the wide, open path she had just taken, then looked ahead at the towering ancient trees that blotted out the sky. It was like a land no one had ever set foot in before.
Because Black Star had a simple purpose—to house a single prison—only a part of it had been developed. The other areas were completely devoid of human presence, and there was no guarantee they weren’t dangerous.
Shi Lan felt a flicker of fear, but she desperately craved more power. With it, she would be able to protect herself even if she ran into the man in the black coat again, not to mention the story’s female lead, whose intentions—friend or foe—were still unknown.
Besides, if she became stronger, she might be able to heal the others faster.
At this thought, her resolve hardened. "Let’s keep going."
Xiao Du nodded. [Okay.]
Shi Lan sprayed herself with insect and mosquito repellent before stepping into the dense forest. It was still relatively bright outside, but not long after she entered, the sky seemed to darken in an instant, and her vision began to blur.
She looked up. Through the gaps in the branches, she could vaguely tell it was still light out. The trees here just grew too densely, making it dim.
Shi Lan rummaged through her Space Bag and took out a lighting device. It functioned like a flashlight but was a levitating sphere that provided 360-degree, shadowless illumination and automatically followed by her side.
It wasn’t expensive; she had found it among the original owner’s belongings. She’d thought it was useful at the time and had packed it just in case.
With the light, she felt a bit more at ease and continued to follow Xiao Du’s directions.
After what felt like a long time, Shi Lan’s legs grew tired from walking. She glanced at her chip and was surprised to see it was already time to get off work. She quickly sent a message to He Hanshi: [Something came up tonight, so I’m heading home directly instead of coming back to the prison. Please let everyone know.]
He Hanshi replied quickly: [Okay.]
Shi Lan felt relieved after notifying him. Just as she was about to turn off her chip, another new message popped up.
She tapped it open and saw a meme of a little White Lion in a military cap, saluting, with the word "Roger" added to it.
Shi Lan: "???"
She blinked, uncertain, and looked again.
After repeatedly checking the name and the meme, she was finally certain it really was He Hanshi.
’I can’t believe someone who always seems so calm and gentle would send such a cute meme.’ The meme even looked a bit like him.
’Hmm, cute~’
Charmed by this unexpected cute side of him, Shi Lan couldn’t help but send a "thumbs up" in reply before turning off her chip.
The White Lion, who had been silently waiting for Shi Lan’s reply, kept his eyes glued to his chip. His tense expression only relaxed after seeing her response.
’It seems Lanlan really does like it.’
With this in mind, after telling the others that Shi Lan had something to do and had already left for the day, he opened his chip again and took a few pictures of himself. freewёbnoνel.com
In this era, people could already make their own memes. You just had to activate the corresponding chat function, take some pictures of yourself to store in an album, and then when you typed the right words during a chat, the system would automatically match them to your photos to create a meme.
So Shi Lan’s feeling wasn’t wrong. The White Lion in the meme was indeed He Hanshi himself, and he had even typed the word "Roger" with his own hands.
Meanwhile, when the others learned that Shi Lan wouldn’t be coming tonight, Mu Tangfeng and Jiang Xia had the strongest reactions. They both began to suspect that their argument had upset her. Now that Shi Lan was absent, they couldn’t help but start blaming each other again.
"Mu Tangfeng, it’s all your fault for wanting to fight! Lanlan must still be angry."
"Jiang Xia, you have the nerve to blame me? If you hadn’t started it by saying I have a bad temper, would I have wanted to beat you up?"
"Oh? And was I wrong?"
"You think you’re any better? You short-legged beast! Just you wait. At 10 o’clock, when I can get out, I’m coming over there to give you a beating."
This wasn’t the first or second time these two had argued. He Hanshi, who had planned to ignore them, heard this and his tone grew serious. "Don’t mess around. If you two are in the same room, it could easily trigger a spiritual power collapse."
Mu Tangfeng grumbled reluctantly, "I was just trying to scare him."
’I’m not actually that reckless. Even if Jiang Xia wanted to die, I still want to live.’
’Things are different now. I’m a man who’s going to have a wife. I can’t joke around with my spiritual power anymore.’
Mu Tangfeng quieted down, and Jiang Xia, finding no more fun in it, stopped causing trouble.
He pulled out a slightly crumpled ball of yarn from under his Snowfall Chair and rolled it forward. He glared at Number Four, who was again itching to start cleaning, then quickly pounced after the yarn, leaving a trail of excited, messy, plum-blossom-shaped paw prints in the snow.
Meanwhile, Shi Lan was still navigating the dark, dense forest. The temperature dropped at night, and the air in the woods was heavy with moisture, so she put on a jacket.
Nights on Black Star were often foggy. By now, the sky was completely dark, and the fog in the forest had thickened. Beyond the two-meter radius of light around her, everything was an endless expanse of darkness, like the gaping maw of a man-eating beast, inspiring a deep-seated fear.
At night, the only sounds were the wind and the CRUNCH of her feet on fallen leaves. In the desolate silence, even the sound of her own breathing was clearly audible.
Fortunately, with Xiao Du for company, Shi Lan could still summon the courage to press on.
As if sensing her mood, Xiao Du quickly reassured her, [Master, we’re almost there. I sense that the ball of energy has started fluctuating in our direction. It should be closer this time.]
"Okay."
Shi Lan responded, patting Xiao Du before her hand moved to the gun in her jacket pocket, the one she had picked up on the Garbage Star. Only then did she continue walking.
This time, Xiao Du wasn’t lying.
Ten minutes later, Shi Lan saw a faint green glow emanating from beneath a large tree.
Xiao Du exclaimed happily, [Master, I found it! That’s it!!!]
With that, it eagerly squirmed out of Shi Lan’s arms and dashed toward it.
